(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 28, 2012 ) Maryport, UK -- Deciding to living as an expat means one has to also decide to take the good with the bad. Although there will be some amazing things to enjoy and an experience that to remember for the rest of the life, there will also be some cultural differences that might make life more difficult than first anticipated.
It's impossible to plan for these things properly, so the best plan is to simply travel with an open mind and accept that not everything is going to be perfect when living abroad as an expat.
Here are some of the most common cultural differences which may prove to be most frustrating when living abroad.
1. Food
One thing for certain about any new destination is that the food will be different. This can, of course, be one of the great things about moving abroad, and trying out all the tasty new meals can make the experience really special.
But it can also be annoying on those days when one miss familiar foods. ecpats often complain of cravings such as cracking open a can of baked beans and pouring them over a slice of crispy toast.
Meal times may also be vastly different. In Spain, dinner is late, often not being served until ten in the evening. Such differences can be fun to start with, but after a long day it can be inconvenient, tiring and frustrating having to stay up so late.
2. Haggling
If traveling to a less developed country then haggling may be a normal event whereever there are shops. Haggling can be great fun when on holiday, but soon it can get pretty tiring and elongated, especially when it happens on every shopping experience.
3. Bureaucracy
Things can sometimes take a lot longer to get done abroad, especially anything official like starting up a business. Systems can often be very different and sometimes very frustrating to work around.
In fact, sometimes they seem to be designed to make life difficult, and when something needs to be done urgently it can prove to be incredibly annoying.
4. Driving
The UK is, on the whole, a nation of reasonably good drivers. It may not seem so now, but after moving overseas it will quickly become apparent just how bad the level of driving is in some countries.
Again, it can be quite fun for a tourist, but living somewhere with terrible driving for any length of time and it begins to become very frustrating indeed.
5. Corruption
This is something certainly not find in every destination, but in a less developed country it may be more prevalent.
Sometimes corruption is very open, and it can be shocking when first watching a policemen taking bribes openly on the street.
When living in a country which has a reputation for corruption, it is one of those frustrating things which often just has to be dealt with and accepted, which can prove difficult.
ItÂ’s All Part of the Adventure
These things can all be very frustrating when moving overseas, itÂ’s a good idea to prepare for the fact that not all of the changes are going to be positive ones.
Try to think of them as part of the adventure, and remember that all of the good things about life overseas will make it more than worthwhile in the end. To read more please visit our expat interviews.
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